The Impact Of Socio-Economic And School Factors On The Academic Performance Of Secondary Students In Kibera Slums, Nairobi County, Kenya

Abstract

In spite of the government’s commitment to provision of education for all (EFA) children, secondary schools in slums such as Kibera continue to face many challenges in access of and participation in education. Pupils’ academic performance in secondary schools located in informal settlements is faced by multiple challenges, which has led to poor academic performance with some learners being forced to drop out of schools. The purpose of this study was to find out if factors such as social economic status and school factors affected academic performance in secondary schools in Kibera slum. This study was carried out in Kibera slum in Lang’ata constituency Nairobi County. During the period of the study, there were a total of 23 registered secondary schools in Kibera. 2 were public secondary schools while 21 were private secondary schools. 112 students were selected randomly among the form fours from 7 sampled secondary schools in Kibera slum. Their academic performance was obtained using the grades scored in the national examination KCSE 2013. The study used descriptive survey research method employing use of questionnaire, which was administered to students and head teachers. The questionnaire’s data was then coded and entered into MS Excel package then later imported to SPSS for descriptive analysis. The results were presented in frequencies tables and T test and ANOVA were used to establish the levels of significance. The finding revealed that social economic factors and school factors under investigations had no significant influence on academic performance. On the basis of the findings, the researcher recommended that: Teachers to implement strategies that would enable learners to improve performance. Teachers and administrators should formulate viable policies which will make learners foster positive attitudes to better their grades. There is need for involvement of parents in the education of their children and lastly, areas that are challenging in secondary schools should be demystified by the teachers and parents so that learners can see and appreciate their achievement in such areas.